LORE-MASTER LEGENDARY ITEMS

This
is either That Which Smote Manwe, or the Smiter Belonging To Manwe.
Either way, it's pretty badass.

Lore-masters have the least variety of legendary items: staves
and books. No need to muck around with multiple setups - this is
probably the simplest aspect of the class. You may want to experiment
with a group-spec and solo-spec staff, but that's about the extent of
it.

Staves come with a handful of non-upgradeable legacies,
similar to 2-handers for Champions, Guardians and Captains. These are
different from item to item, but usually include Will and Fate boosts
and a few other things. The higher the level requirement for the staff,
the more powerful these base legacies are.

As for the standard Pool A legacies, Tactical Skills Direct
Damage is a must-have on a staff. This makes all tactical damage skills
hit harder. Fire Skills Critical Multiplier is also nice to have, as is
Staff Strike Cooldown. The one legacy that will define
the staff's status as group-spec or solo-spec is Increased Power from
Share the Power - if the staff has it, it's probably good for groups.
If not, it's probably good for soloing. All other staff
legacies deal with increasing skill damage, critical rating
or range.

Book legacies are generally the ones that affect buffs,
debuffs, cures and crowd-control. Target Physical Resist Rating will
allow mezzes to land more often, and Target Tactical Damage Skills
Resist Rating will allow damaging skills to hit more often.
Non-Damaging Sign of Power Duration is a very good buff-spec legacy,
and Beacon of Hope Healing is a good cure-spec legacy. For a
battle-book, look for Fire Skills Critical Rating, Burning Embers
Pulses and Wizard's Fire Pulses.

Pool B book legacies are a real mixed bag. Good battle-book
legacies include Fire Damage Over Time, Target Fire Damage Skills
Resist Rating and Fire-Lore Targets. A pet-smart Lore-master may want
Increased Threat from Sign of Rage and Increased Morale from Sign of
Protection.

LORE-MASTER TRAIT LINES

PETA
would probably not approve of this trait line.

Lore-masters have a lot of
options when picking a trait set. Line purists will be
highly-specialized at specific roles, while those who go for utility
and mix and match from different lines will be more well-rounded.

The Keeper of Animals line beefs up animal companions
significantly. The individual traits improve either the animals
themselves, the companion-based buffs or the curative and other buff
skills. If you want to be a better healer and have combat-grade cures,
use traits from this line. The capstone legendary trait, Nature-Friend,
grants the skill Friend of Nature, which allows the Lore-master to
summon a bog-lurker companion - arguably the strongest animal companion
available to the class. It also grants the skill Combat Summoning,
which allows the Lore-master to summon a companion in combat - useful
if the animal companion falls during a fight or if the Lore-master
needs to swap out one companion for a different one.

The Master of Nature's Fury line jacks up the Lore-master's
tactical DPS, particularly beefing up fire-based skills. This comes at
a cost to the duration of Blinding Flash. The individual traits affect
attack skills, upping damage, reducing power costs and increasing the
heals from the Sign of Battle skillls. The capstone legendary trait,
Improved Sticky Gourd, improves the Sticky Gourd skill, creating an
area-effect damage zone when the gourd is tossed. This is a good trait
line for soloing or running in the Ettenmoors, but not so good for
running with groups where the mezzes from Blinding Flash are a higher
priority.

The Ancient Master line is the debuffing and crowd-controlling
line. The line bonuses increase the number of Dead affected by Bane
Flare, make the root effect from Cracked Earth apply sooner, and add
new mob types to the creatures affected by Warding Lore skills. The
individual traits affect mainly buffing, debuffing and crowd-control
skills, extending duration, increasing max targets and lowering
resistances. The capstone legendary trait, Force of Will, improves Sign
of Power: See All Ends, increasing the duration and magnitude of the
buffs, and also increases the duration of Fire-lore, Frost-lore, Sign
of Power: Command and Ancient Craft.

Playing mix-n-match also has its advantages. Proof Against All
Ills is a good trait to have for any occasion, and Master of the Staff
is good for when situations devolve from a gentlemanly ranged fight to
a melee. Inductionless Blinding Flash is likewise invaluable, as it can
help prevent mobs from rushing up to the group and getting caught in
area-effect attacks, thus rendering the mez irrelevant. A good
mix-and-match set will play to the strengths of the player, making him
better at what he does.

LORE-MASTER VIRTUES

Tactical
classes generally all follow the same guidelines for selecting virtues:
Will and Fate first, then Vitality, then the rest of it. Lore-masters
are no exception.

Wisdom is the obvious first choice: +30 Will, a nice boost to
non-combat power regeneration and some handy wound resistance. Idealism
is also an excellent choice: +30 Fate, +8 Will, +1014 Fear Resist
Rating. These ones are no-brainers.

Empathy is also good for tactical classes (+15 Fate, +450
Armour Value, +609 Fear Resist Rating), as is Confidence (+15 Will,
+2029 Fear Resist Rating, +202.5 non-Combat Power Regen). It seems like
all the Virtues that jack up Will and Fate also jack up Fear Resist
Rating, so be prepared to stand tall while others cower around
you.

Being the massively squishy class that the Lore-master is, it
will pay to increase Vitality. Loyalty is a good choice - +30 Vitality,
+62 Max Power, +150 Armor Value. Loyalty is a trait that is good for
pretty much every class.

Once you start getting good gear at high levels and can afford
to trade out some Will and Fate, it's time to slap some patches on the
weaker areas. Swap out Empathy or Confidence and look at increasing
defence, morale or power: Innocence os a good defensive trait (+1000
melee defence rating, +1014 Poison Resist Rating, +230 Shadow Defence),
Valour gives a good boost to morale and Honesty provides a good boost
to base power.